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Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Cameron To March On Russia?

There are very many
experts in both the military and diplomatic world saying that going into Syria
without either a strategic purpose or an exit plan is little short of insane in
the present world.

Given the state of the
army, the limited capability of both the navy and the air force as well as the
inexperience and lack of understanding in 10 Downing Street if the intervention
is anything other than a hit and run raid then we are in deep trouble.

Even if it is such a
"raid" it could be more like the Dieppe Raid of August 1942 than any
other of recent memory. Unluckily, such
"raids" of this kind can turn into commitments that are ruinous by
any standard.

Yet we are told, and
haven't we heard this one before so often, that there is a Moral
Imperative. It is baffling that in a
conflict that has had so many hideous incidents that suddenly the use of
chemicals is "different".

Coming from nations that
in the past have never been shy of flinging the horrors of war on others,
notably in chemicals, this is a little rich. It looks more like a nasty way of
putting a spin on a political cum military caper that is fraught with danger.

There is every chance of
making things worse in Syria, so much for the Moral Issue. There is at least a chance of inflicting serious damage on our own
capability and standing in the world. As
well as this we could badly disrupt relations with other states whose tolerance
we need, notably Russia.

GK Chesterton wrote a
fascinating book once, called "The Napoleon of Notting Hill". Cameron, pictured above, at least it looks
like him, would do well to read it.
While he is at it perhaps he should swot up on The Crimean War of
1853-1856.

Possibly, he may think
that he is going to do a repeat of the Battle of Omdurman where the Brit's
overcame the locals with Winston Churchill present. Such a feat is now wholly beyond our abilities.

Those of us who know a
bit will be aware that only a few months before Omdurman, in April 1898, there
was a fiasco at Kismayu that we all seem to have forgotten. As for Obama it may be more like a trip to
the Kasserine Pass in 1942.